Laboratory safety
This one-day course is essential for staff and students who are required to work in research laboratories.
It will provide participants with important laboratory safety principles and practices.
Scope
You will:
- gain an understanding of basic laboratory safety principles and practices
- be able to more readily identify laboratory hazards and implement effective control measures
- become aware of good design, management and laboratory practices
- understand the process of assessing and reducing the risks within laboratories
- examine serious laboratory incidents from UWA and elsewhere and lessons to be learnt from these
The Course Notes are available on the links below.
Laboratory Safety Course Notes 2024 [3.8 MB PDF]
Laboratory Safety Course Notes 2024 [4.3 MB DOCX]
Assessments
To pass this course you must successfully complete two online assessments, the lab safety course test and the ChemAlert Training Unit.
- Login into the UWA LMS with your Pheme number.
- To enrol in the ChemAlert Training Unit copy and paste this URL into the UWA LMS page
- To enrol in the Laboratory Safety Course test paste this URL into the UWA LMS page
Timetable
| Times | Topics |
| 09:00-09:30 | Demonstration 1 |
| 09:30-09:50 | Introduction. Systems of work, legal aspects, general duties, induction training, overview of safety responsibilities, resolution of safety issues, incident and accident reporting, case studies. |
| 09:50-10:30 | Safety and Emergency Procedures. General laboratory safety rules, working in isolation, general emergency procedures, laboratory emergency procedures, personal protective equipment (particularly gloves), fire protection and safety, case studies. |
| 10:30-10:45 | Morning Tea |
| 10:45-11:30 | Laboratory and Engineering Safety. Laboratory construction, access and egress, fire and emergency alarms, safety equipment, reticulated services, hydraulic services, electrical services and safety, ventilation, fume cupboards and their safe use, "out of service" tags for maintenance. Hazards, Risks and Toxicology. Identification of hazards, risk assessment and control, hierarchy of controls, toxicology, routes of entry, exposure standards, monitoring |
| 11:30-12:15 | Hazardous Substances. Regulations, management systems (labels, registers, msds, health surveillance, carcinogenic substances), dangerous goods, poisons |
| 12:15-13:00 | Lunch |
| 13:00-13:30 | Chemical Safety. Chemical hazards in laboratories, use, storage, spillage, disposal, case studies Cryogens and Gases. Cryogenics, operation under vacuum, compressed and liquefied gases |
| 13:30-14:00 | Demonstration 2 |
| 14:00-15:15 | Biological Safety. Classification of hazards, classification of laboratories, OGTR requirements, blood and products of human origin, disinfection and decontamination methods, AQIS requirements, laminar flow and biosafety cabinets, autoclaving. |
| 15:15-15:30 | Afternoon Tea |
| 15.30-16:30 | Open book test |
| 16:30-16:45 | Closure |
Further Information
DURATION
7 hours
DATE
Monday 17 February 2025
9 AM - 4 PM
LOCATION
Tattersall Lecture Theatre
FACILITATOR
COST
UWA staff and students: No Cost
Others: No Cost